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It was pitch black--and probably around 10 PM. The only form of light in the room was an old LED computer screen flashing with color on Romio's face.
Dazed, he does nothing but just scroll through whatever he can. Websites he just remembers the URL for, blogs for cute dogs, whatever to just get his mind off of all his made-up problems. Eventually, the ten minutes he started off with looking at blogs turned into a half hour, and that half hour turned into hours and hours of mindless web surfing, and those hours kept on going until the clock had hit 2 AM.
At that point, Romio had given up on trying to distract himself, and instead, he just curled up on his bed, his bare arms soaked in his tears. He didn't know why he was crying. He didn't ask to waste his time crying. He didn't WANT to cry. He knew the more he ruminated on it, the more it would hurt, and that even if he was never wrong, the world would still be against him. All those thoughts kept circling in his head, over and over and over, with seemingly no end. It felt like a cruel merry-go-round, with each horse on the ride holding a different guilt. All Romio wanted was an end. A stop. One way or another.
After what felt like forever to him, he felt a vibration coming from somewhere. Somewhere near him. Maybe it was still from his bed? Maybe near his pillow? He flipped a pillow to uncover his phone, which he reluctantly picked up to check the caller ID.
Yuli.
A name he never expected to hear. Not in a million years. Not now.
Regardless, all he lets out is a sigh as he clicks the answer button.
"Hello?"
"Ah, Romio. Hi."
"Hey. What is it?"
Romio's voice was still shaky from before, but he didn't want to make it too obvious--after all, that's just rude.
"I'm at that venue I told you about...You know the one. It's a few minutes away from Yuu Mart."
"What about it?"
"I need you to pick me up. If you can, obviously...I told Smile and Ash they could just leave on their own and that I already had a car. But I lied. I totally lied. I just didn't want to annoy them...long story short, can you PLEASE pick me up? It's starting to get cold..."
Think. Just think about it.
Romio went silent for a good minute, trying to think of some way he could answer. It was such a simple request and yet he didn't know if he wanted to do it.
Maybe he could. Maybe he should...
He must've thought for WAY too long, because he had to be forced back to reality.
"Romio. Are you there?"
"Oh..sure. I'll see what I can do, Yuli."
"Cool. Take your time with it. I don't have anything else for the night."
"Cool. Uhm...bye."
"Bye."
Maybe it was never that big of a deal. Romio doesn't wear much as he goes out; just a trench coat and an actually decent pair of pants underneath, mainly just to keep himself warm. He could care less about what he was wearing as long he wasn't FULLY naked.
He puts his phone, his keys, an unopened pack of cigarettes, and his least favorite lighter all in the pockets of his coat. And now, he is finally ready...
Romio was very familiar with the venue Yuli mentioned. It was one he'd been to so many times, both as a high-schooler and an employed adult. He remembered every part of it--from the entrance to the merchandise venue, and the drinks bar to the incredibly tiny bathroom. It was a small venue where a lot of indie rock bands made their debut performing preliminary demo songs, and eventually most bands would just disband months after. While walking, Romio just ended up thinking about all those concerts he'd been to.
Out of all of them, one particular band stood out.
A band that, at the time, was called Deuil, stylized with a capital L at the end.
A band with a pale blue-haired boy as its vocalist.
A band that had made over 10 different demo CDs to be sold at that particular venue.
A band with some of the best composition and production imaginable.
A band with Romio's friend as its vocalist.
Before he knew it, Romio eventually saw that building in front of him again. But more importantly, he remembered what he had to do now that he arrived.
"Romio. Over here!"
Yuli waved at Romio to signal that he came to the right place. Romio ran to Yuli and tried to catch his breath before saying anything.
"H...hi, Yuli..."
"Hey. Are you okay? You barely even ran..."
"Wonderful. I'm wonderful."
Romio needed to do his task, and fast.
"Uhm...how long have you been waiting...?"
"Like, 10 minutes. I honestly expected a car or something...are we just gonna walk?"
"Walking seemed easiest."
"You're joking...right? Where's the car-"
"Just trust me."
Silence followed afterwards, as per every conversation the two had. They eventually just agreed on staying at Romio's place, although...reluctantly.
Step, step, step...
Constant walking in the dark...
Nothing but street lights...
Romio kept looking at the road ahead, but Yuli kept looking at Romio. It was anti-climactic in a way--like he wanted to tell Romio a deep, dark secret.
Yuli's expression was weird as well. It was like he was happy, but also kind of...aroused? Maybe he was excited. Maybe he was pissed off. But he didn't want to seem like either of those things, so he just kept staring at Romio. Staring silently, smiling from ear to ear.
Yuli found it interesting how Romio was a bit taller than him. Maybe that was why he was staring so much? Romio didn't pay much mind to it. At least he tried not to.
Flash forward and after lots of small talk and convenience store snacks, the two had finally arrived to Romio's apartment.
Romio's apartment was quite nice. Well decorated, and just pleasant to be in. To Yuli, it felt like a very nostalgic place, and that made him feel comfortable being with Romio.
They made their way to the guest room of Romio's apartment, which mainly consisted of a music area with a CD player and a small shelf of rock CDs that Romio didn't feel like keeping in his main room, and a sofa that Romio really liked, placed in a nearby corner. And a few chairs too. Just in case. It was his favorite room because he'd just sulk and listen to music, but he felt like someone else deserved to see it in all its glory as well.
"What's this room for?"
"It's a guest room. There's an area for music...and a sofa. I bought it a few years back. It's nice...a very nice sofa. It's kinda like a bed too...in the sense that you can sleep on it without feeling like you're gonna roll off."
"Hm. Nice to hear!"
"Yeah."
Romio awkwardly made his way to the music area, and instantly started digging through the CDs there to see what he could play to pique Yuli's interest. After flipping that CD collection upside down, he found a live album. One of his favorites from a few years back.
Well, sure. Maybe it could work.
"Yuli...I think you're gonna like this."
"Hm?"
"I just found a really cool live album...I can't recall the year. Probably, like, 2003? Just listen to it."
"Sure."
Romio put the disc into the CD player, and let the music play. He then made his way back to Yuli, who was sitting on the sofa, fidgeting around with his nails. His sharp, pointy, vampire-y nails.
"So, Yuli..."
"Yeah?"
"You know, when we made our way back here, you had this weird expression on your face..."
Yuli instantly started to smile again, just like he did. It was, in fact, weird. Yuli was smiling ear to ear, with his eyes not fully scrunched, but close enough. Basically, he was just trying to remake that expression Romio was mentioning.
"That. What was that for?"
Yuli looked to the left. Then he looked down. Then he looked at Romio.
"...Is it wrong to look lovingly at your best friend?"
Stop. What kind of response was that?
Romio was...flattered, simply put. He didn't think Yuli actually saw him as a best friend. That was the main surprise to him.
"I...I guess it isn't..."
And now Romio was smiling, too. He looked just as crazy as Yuli did. Ear to ear smile, eyes not scrunched, but still kind of scrunched. Out of embarrassment, he just tried to pay attention to the music instead while hiding his smile.
Suddenly, Romio felt something near his arm. It was Yuli...of course.
"You know, Romio...you really are my best friend. It feels a bit weird. Like...you're more than a friend, but not quite a romantic lover...It's difficult to describe. You get me, though...right?"
"Sure. I guess it's just that it's friendship to us, but everyone else sees it as some weird romance."
"Pretty much."
Yuli looked away for a second, trying to figure out what to say next. Now, Romio was an emotional wreck, with his head still in his hands, trying to hide his smile. Even though he was the bigger man, it was obvious he was more emotional. Maybe he's just not used to being told those sorts of things.
Eventually, Romio picked his head up after hearing the music from the CD. It was his favorite song, and he immediately snapped back to reality.
"Thank you, Yuli. You're too kind. That's all I can tell you. Seriously, thank you..."
Before Romio could even finish his sentence, he felt something against his lips. And as soon as he felt it on his lips, he felt that same thing release all its tension and move away. And with his favorite song playing, he knew good and well he'd never forget that tension.
Before Romio could even try to process that sole moment, he just ended up hearing one thing being said to him in a voice much gentler, and much more bashful than usual.
"You're the kind one."